Thesis Prize Guidelines and Application

Guidelines

Nominations are only considered in the year of submission, unless fewer than 3 theses are submitted, in which case no award will be made and the nominations received for that year will automatically be considered in the following year’s competition.

The DTP/WITP P R Wallace Thesis Prize Committee shall be chaired by the DTP Past Chair. The membership of the Committee shall also include the WITP Past Director and additional members appointed by the Committee Chair according to areas/languages of the theses submitted. If possible, all committee members shall represent different regions of Canada.

The Thesis Prize Committee shall select only one winner; no tie will be permitted.

The winner shall receive a cash award of $500 from the DTP/WITP. The prize will be announced at the Theory CANADA Conference, with notification sent to all DTP and WITP members.

The prize winner will be notified by March 31 and asked to give an invited talk at the Theory CANADA conference. The travel expenses will be covered from the Theory CANADA funds, subject to budgetary constraints.  Should Theory CANADA publish proceedings that year, the prize winner will be invited to submit a summary of the thesis work for the proceedings before they receive the cash award. If the proceedings are not published, the prize winner will receive the cash award after a two-page summary of their thesis work is accepted for publication in an issue of Physics in Canada.

A one-page summary describing the competition results shall be posted by the Thesis Prize Committee Chair on the DTP website. [Example: http://dnp.phys.uregina.ca/content/2012-13-competition]

A description of how to apply and the relevant rules shall be posted on the DTP webpage.

How to apply for the DTP/WITP P R Wallace Thesis Prize:

Anyone receiving their Ph.D. degree in theoretical physics from a Canadian University, with a thesis in theoretical physics completed (final version) less than 2 years prior to the application deadline, 15 January of the Prize year, may apply for the DTP/WITP P R Wallace Ph.D. thesis prize.  The winner must be a member of the CAP and its DTP when the Prize is presented, at the Theory CANADA conference, which takes place in early June (or late May). Such membership is encouraged, but not strictly required at the time of application.

To be considered for the award, a copy of the thesis, and the email address of the thesis supervisor (or addresses of the thesis supervisors) must be submitted to the Chair of the DTP (in 2019-20: Randy Lewis, randy.lewis@yorku.ca), and cc-ed to cap@uottawa.ca, by 15 January of the Prize year (2020).”

A short list will be drawn up after the 15 January (2019) deadline, and then further material will be requested before a winner is selected.

No candidate will be awarded two Ph.D. thesis prizes (if they apply to two different divisions of CAP).

The DTP/WITP P R Wallace Prize Awardee and shortlisted candidates bolster their résumés and increase their chances of career advancement.  We encourage all authors of recent Canadian university high-quality theoretical physics Ph.D. theses to apply.

Any questions should be sent to the Chair of the DTP, Randy Lewis at randy.lewis@yorku.ca.